September 15, 2014

Sharing some thoughts and reflections of my past abuse and how God truly made a HUGE difference in my abuse…just a touch, there’s so much more, but it’s a start…something I pray that Victims and Survivors would read and I pray that it gives someone the courage to freedom inside and out…

Thinking Back…

I've been thinking back a lot to my past abuse. Not dwelling on the abuse itself or getting upset by it at all…just thinking back and looking at my situation and realizing some key facts about my abuse in the early 90's with my husband and my abuse later in the 90's with my boyfriend…

September 12, 2014

This news is so sad! The fact that there were warning signs before these 5 precious young children were murdered makes me question why the system failed them to such a degree?

Neighbors saw the degradation of these children! Calls were made! Reports were written! My question is, how long was he “wanted in regards a welfare concern of his children”?

I pray that the system figures out what more could have been done or should have been done, and makes sure something like this doesn’t happen again! If laws or lack of kept them from protecting these children, then changes have to be made!

I hope to see more about the history here and hope to find out more history on what lead up to the children being murdered.

To the family left behind…know that there are those out here that are praying for you and our hearts are with you!

Father charged with murder after bodies of 5 missing South Carolina children found in Alabama

A South Carolina man will be charged with murder in the deaths of his five children – who were ages 1 to 8 – after their bodies were found wrapped in garbage bags off a two-lane highway in Alabama, authorities say.

Acting Sheriff Lewis McCarty of Lexington County said Wednesday at a news conference that Timothy Ray Jones Jr., 32, would be charged with five counts of murder when he arrives in South Carolina. Jones is currently being held in Mississippi.

Authorities in South Carolina and Mississippi said that Jones has already been charged with child neglect.

McCarty said authorities believe that Jones killed the five children at the same time, but he did not say specifically why he thought that. He said authorities are not sure of the motive for the killings, but officials believe Jones acted alone, with no one's help.

"They were wonderful. They were happy," Jones' stepmother, Julie Jones of Amory, Mississippi, told The Associated Press by phone Wednesday. She identified herself as Jones' stepmother.

"I'm sure everybody wants to know the answers," Jones' father, Timothy Jones Sr., said. He said he was working on a statement about his son's arrest and the death of his grandchildren. "It's just a terrible tragedy."

Autopsies have been set up to begin Thursday, although McCarty said he's unsure when they will be finished, and officials won't comment on any causes of death until then.

McCarty added that the children's mother, Jones' ex-wife, is in shock and distraught. The children were reported missing by their mother on Sept. 3, authorities said.

"This is a very tragic situation," Wilcox County (Ala.) District Attorney Michael Jackson said. "These kids' lives were snuffed out before they had a chance to enjoy life. Justice will be served."

Jackson said Jones is suspected of killing the children in South Carolina before taking their bodies to Alabama.

An Alabama Department of Public Safety spokesman told the Associated Press that Jones led police to the site near the town of Camden where the bodies were found.

On Wednesday morning, the dirt road where the bodies had been located — an isolated area between the Alabama towns of Pine Apple and Oak Hill, about 25 miles west of an Interstate 65 exit — was abandoned. Investigators had worked late into the night using flood lights, but there was no longer any sign of vehicles or people. Boot prints and tire tracks were especially prevalent around a pile of dead trees atop a sandy soil hilltop, guarded from view by the two-lane highway.

Jones was detained in Smith County on Saturday after being stopped at a motor vehicle checkpoint near Raleigh, Mississippi, and charged with drunken driving, Smith County Sheriff Charlie Crumpton said in a news release.

Crumpton said Jones became agitated when a deputy questioned him about an odor of chemicals coming from the Cadillac Escalade he was driving. The deputy found what were believed to be chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine and a substance believed to be the street drug Spice, a form of synthetic marijuana, Crumpton said. A sheriff's office investigator was called and found what appeared to be bleach, muriatic acid, blood and possible body fluids, he said.

During a background check, police discovered that Jones was wanted in South Carolina "regarding a welfare concern of his children," who were on a national missing persons list, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.

Investigators from several departments and the FBI started looking for the missing children on Monday, Crumpton said. He said the children's decomposed bodies were found in individual plastic garbage bags.

Jarrett told a news conference that authorities were not sure why Jones drove through Alabama.

Jones had joint custody of the children and is divorced from their mother, police said. They said he told neighbors that he and the children were moving to another state.

Marlene Hyder and her husband, Johnny Hyder, said Jones and his wife moved into a house next to them about seven years ago in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, 25 miles west of Columbia. They said Jones told them he worked in computers. Two years ago, the wife moved in with a male neighbor and Tim Jones moved away with the children, the Hyders said.

Johnny Hyder said the children were often dressed in dirty clothes and were seen home at all hours of the day because Tim Jones had said he didn't believe in the public schools. Hyder said Jones was constantly looking for a reason to argue and often threatened to call the police. He said Jones approached him with a gun on his hip one day and was angry about something, but Hyder couldn't remember what it was. When Hyder said he was going to call police, he said Jones told him it was only a BB gun.

"It wasn't a BB gun," Hyder said. "It was a real gun. I know what one looks like, but I didn't want to cause any more trouble."

Marlene Hyder said Jones threatened to kill one of their dogs when it briefly went onto his property.

"He was a nut," she said.

Marlene Hyder said she also remembered a day when one of the Jones' younger children came over to the Hyders' house and tried to drink out of one of their outdoor spigots. He was dirty and disheveled and ran back to his house when she tried to speak to him, she said.

A "no trespassing" sign was posted near the driveway of a house where the Hyders said Tim Jones' ex-wife still lived with the other neighbor. Several people were seen walking around the yard, but none responded to questions from a reporter.

Like many others, I’ve heard Domestic Violence being mentioned often as of late. The fact that Ray Rice was abusive towards his girlfriend is nothing anyone can dispute, it was caught on video. The fact that they went light on his suspension without the video of what happened inside the elevator isn’t surprising, and the fact that his life time suspension has been given after seeing the video is very heartening that they are taking this seriously.

Hearing Domestic Violence being mentioned on the news and within the NFL has been great to hear! Sadly it takes a case where a NFL star is involved to make them talk about the issue and how important it is to do something about it.

I’ve heard the issue with Ray Rice over and over….yet the news about Timothy Ray Jones killing his 5 children hasn’t been plastered all over our TV’s. In fact, I hadn’t heard about what happened until I saw it online, and not sure if they put it on the local news or not, I haven’t seen anything mentioned about it. It’s sad, that Ray Rice is getting so much air time yet the fact that 5 children, ages 1-8, doesn’t rate even near enough mentioning….

I Thank James Brown for his message….more DOES NEED to be done about Domestic Violence! Hearing it on the news, on talk shows, and within the NFL that is male dominated is needed! I just pray that this doesn’t fizzle out like I’ve seen it do after other cases of Domestic Violence happening to stars. I pray that the momentum that we are seeing right now continue and that more become aware of what is going on within our families and just how prevalent Domestic Violence is.

By Will Brinson | NFL Writer

September 11, 2014 9:22 pm ET

James Brown gave an impassioned speech against domestic violence on Thursday. (via CBS)

Few sportscasters are more universally respected than CBS Sports' James Brown. (Claim bias or whatever you want but JB is a pro's pro and good luck finding a dissenting opinion.)

He showed why on Thursday night when he provided an impassioned, rational plea to a national audience -- "the NFL community and all men" -- to do something about domestic violence in light of the Ray Rice situation. Specifically, as he noted two years ago after Chiefs player Jovan Belcher killed his girlfriend and then himself, "to seriously confront the problem."

“Two years ago I challenged the NFL community and all men to seriously confront the problem of domestic violence, especially coming on the heels of the murder-suicide of Kansas City Chiefs football player Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins. Yet, here we are again dealing with the same issue of violence against women.

Now let's be clear, this problem is bigger than football. There has been, appropriately so, intense and widespread outrage following the release of the video showing what happened inside the elevator at the casino. But wouldn't it be productive if this collective outrage, as my colleagues have said, could be channelled to truly hear and address the long-suffering cries for help by so many women? And as they said, do something about it? Like an on-going education of men about what healthy, respectful manhood is all about.

And it starts with how we view women. Our language is important. For instance, when a guy says, ‘you throw the ball like a girl' or ‘you're a little sissy,' it reflects an attitude that devalues women and attitudes will eventually manifest in some fashion. Women have been at the forefront in the domestic violence awareness and prevention arena. And whether Janay Rice considers herself a victim or not, millions of women in this country are.

Consider this: According to domestic violence experts, more than three women per day lose their lives at the hands of their partners. That means that since the night of February 15th in Atlantic City more than 600 women have died.

So this is yet another call to men to stand up and take responsibility for their thoughts, their words, their deeds, and as Deion [Sanders] says, to give help or to get help, because our silence is deafening and deadly.”

It's a well-stated message that came across even better the way Brown phrased it.

In light of everything happening around the NFL these days, it's a lesson everyone would do well to heed.

help us continue to support victims and survivors

Daily Newspapers

Blogs

Have something to share?

We always love to hear from Survivors and Advocates! Please feel free to contact us either privately or by giving your insight and feelings to the posts! If you have a blog, please connect with us! By us working together we can achieve so much more...

Disclaimer

Nothing in this blog should be misconstrued as professional advice of any kind. Any actions you take based on anything you read here is is your responsibility, and you are not being told to do anything. This blog is for information purposes only, what you do with that information is up to you and the blog owner and writers will not be held accountable for your actions.

Everything on this blog is protected by copyright laws, do not copy and paste anything without Le Chrysalis' express written permission. Feel free to post links to the blog or any articles that you want to share!